Isaiah 55:8-9
“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.”
I love these verses. I love to remember that God’s thoughts, plans, ways, methods, and strategies are infinitely higher and greater than my own. They are better in every way. They take me by surprise. They go where I could have never dreamed. They are accomplished in ways that surpass any and all expectations that I ever had. And this is wonderful.
What Kind of God Would He Be?
It is wonderful because what kind of god would God be if we could wrap our minds around Him and His ways? What kind of god would He be if we could predict where He would go and how He would get there? What kind of god would He be if He worked out of the same small and limited view of the world and history that we do? I will tell you what kind of god He would be. He would be small. He would be like us. He could be rivaled. He could be called into question and it would be right to doubt Him.
But He is none of those things. He is infinitely BIG, working from a vantage point we can’t even comprehend, with power to execute His plan so great no one can stop Him. The distance that exists between His thoughts and ours is too big for words to capture. In His unending wisdom, knowledge, and power He has planned all of eternity, from start to finish.
Isaiah 46:9-11
Remember the former things of old; for I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like me, declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times things not yet done, saying, ‘My counsel shall stand, and I will accomplish all my purpose, calling a bird of prey from the east, the man of my counsel from a far country. I have spoken, and I will bring it to pass; I have purposed, and I will do it.
94 Days
Sometimes, however, life does not feel as if God is in control. We may question where God is as…
• Our loved ones face health concerns
• Our plans crumble around us
• After 94 days of in person school we had to shut down for the day due to Covid
Or even more seriously, as…
• We watch countless dying from a pandemic and are forced into a more solitary lifestyle
• We see the hatred that politics can generate in our own country
Seeing the Whole Story
We may ask, “Where is God in all of this?” But what Isaiah calls us back to is that God’s ways are not our ways, His thoughts are not our thoughts. His plan is impeccable. We may not see it from our limited vantage point, but God sees the whole story, not just the page in history we sit in.
• He knew we wouldn’t make it to day 95
• He knows how it all started and what it was working towards
• He knows the great conflicts that will arise
• He knows how He and His Son save the day from all the evil that we brought on the world
• He knows how He works all the evil committed in the world together for good
• He knows it all
Every detail of history has been accounted for and meticulously planned in concert with God’s greater plan of good. Our struggle to see what God sees shouldn’t cause us to doubt Him, but to trust Him. If we could wrap our minds around it all how great of a plan would it be? It would be human at best. This leaves us but with one option, trust Him.
Trusting the Sovereign Story Teller
As God writes the story of history, He is not telling the same old story that has been told time and time again. He is telling a story that is incomparable. He is writing the masterpiece of all masterpieces. We might not see it clearly now, but we can trust Him because His thoughts are not like our thoughts and His ways are not like our ways. They are higher. They are better. Infinitely so.
Prayer – (Excerpts of a poem written by a family friend, Lois Guhr who just went to her home in Heaven this past week, in memoriam of my Mother – Ruth Dorn)
As the silent holy night approaches; If we listen real intently, We can hear among the angels on high. A familiar voice there in the sky. Singing forever “To God be the Glory” It’s our dear Ruth singing, “I’m safe in the arms of Jesus, I’m so happy, please don’t cry.” May the Lord put His arms around all of us and hug us tight. To give us special strength, and care for us with all His might. Of His abiding presence may we never lose sight, Peace will prevail and everything will be all right. His promise to all is that He will never give – More trials than one can handle, with that assurance, may we live. Amen
(I do not know the author of a good portion of this devotion, but thought it was so well written and was a message we need to hear, often)